Thacker Mountain Radio Hour Rocks The Square

A night of laughs, stories and music kicked off Halloween weekend last Thursday night at The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour on the Square.

The night of entertainment included performances by singer-songwriter Bryan Hayes, Southern rockers Winston Ramble and an appearance by garage rockers, The Seratones. Author Alexander Winestien was also in attendance as he read from his newest collection of short stories “Children of the New World.” Host Jim Dees with his witty banter and clever one-liners provided the laughs.

The house band, the Yalobushwhackers, kicked off the show with their rendition of the forever creepy title theme from John Carpenter’s horror classic “Halloween.” Front man Paul Tate did his best Jim Morrison impression as the band played the psychedelic hit “People Are Strange” by the Doors.

Following the Yalobushwhackers was Tennessee native Bryan Hayes. The singer played two songs from his album “Further Down the Line.” Hayes combined the warming vocals of James Taylor with a Springsteen-like personal narrative and treated the audience with an intimate performance. Next on stage was the Louisiana-based Seratones who commanded the attention of the audience with a strong vocal performance by lead singer A.J. Haynes and chopping guitar riffs. The audience then enjoyed a short story from Alexander Weinstein’s dark yet humorous new book, which reflects a Stephen King influence.

Feet were stomping and hands were clapping as soon as the Alabama folk-rockers, Winston Ramble started to play. The five-piece band closed out the show with a three-song set. All songs were from their self-titled album “Winston Ramble.”

The turnout was large and the strong sense of community was great in the tight perimeters of the venue. The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is live every Thursday at 6 p.m. and can be heard on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

For Thursday night’s lineup, click here.

By Colin Sullivan, an intern for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at cdsulli1@go.olemiss.edu.